Making Wussywat the Clumsy Cat, a chat with the team behind Babycow’s new show
Baby Cow Animation, the folks behind 2DTV, Warren United and I Am Not An Animal have launched their first children’s animated television series. Wussy Wat the Clumsy Cat is set in “The Garden” where our feline hero encounters all manner of interesting things to bump into and fall over with his friends, Duckadile, Oggy, Ird and Ortus, who gently steer him towards each new clumsy discovery, instilling the values of friendship and teamwork.
As Baby Cow Animation are primarily known for producing comedy, they’ve not skimped on the comedy talent working on the series. Animation voice over artist and comedian Morwenna Banks who you’ll either know from comedy sketch show Absolutley or as Mummy Pig in Peppa Pig provides the voice of Wussywat whilst Saxondale’s Rasmus Hardiker lends his voice to Duckadile and Oggy. Adding to the comedy troupe lending his voice to Ortus and Ird is Marc Wootton, best known for Nativity and Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. The show is narrated by Liza Tarbuck, who guides Wussywat through his mishaps.
Children are a discerning audience and so the art of making great television for children is something that, when done right, can create timeless memories living on in the minds of the young audience. Perhaps with this considered, Wussywat recalls the shows of yesteryear with a simple cut out style and playful set up to each story, though there is a bright and breezy modern edge to the show for the audience to lap up!
We caught up with the team behind Wussywat the Clumsy Cat. Simon Rolph is the lead writer on the show as well as the co-creator alongside Simon Quinn who also produces, Tom Edgar is the series director, they shared their insight into the making of the series.
Who is Wussywat?
Simon Rolph, Co-creator/Writer:
Wussywat the Clumsy Cat is about a curious cat who discovers new and interesting things in the world around him through his innocent uncoordinated clumsiness! Set in an infinite garden, we follow his slapstick antics through each episode watching him try out new stuff. He has three theme-based clumsy mishaps and eventually learns something new by connecting these experiences to have a clever realization. The show’s stories centre round Wussywat’s ‘have-a-go’ attitude and how his friends help him on his journey.
The ensemble cast consists of Wussywat’s best friend, Duckadile, the squeaky crocodile, always egging him on, there’s Ird the bossy blackbird who has big sister tendencies, Ortus the tongue-tied tortoise with all the answers but not enough time to impart them and Oggy the excitable doggy always up for a lick. Overseeing the mayhem is our calm and collected Narrator (voiced by the lovely Liza Tarbuck). Watchful and ever-present, she helps move proceedings safely along, allowing Wussywat to finally achieve his light-bulb moment in his own Wussywat way.
How did the idea for Wussywat come about?
Simon Quinn, Co-creator/Producer:
Wussywat is inspired by my son Tomas. I was at the kitchen sink doing the washing-up one day, watching him play happily in the garden. He must have been about two at the time. He was very taken with a colourful flower and gave it a big sniff, then looked at me and said, “Oh it smells beautiful, dad!” I was really taken aback he was really exploring his surroundings with all his senses in a state of wonder. It was quite an emotional moment for me and it was then I knew I wanted to do something creative for him to capture that feeling.
The name ‘Wussywat’ comes from my niece not being able to pronounce “pussycat” properly. It always came out as wussywat! His catch phrase “Wossat?” is something my mum used to say to us when we were little; she still says it now to the grandchildren. Tomas had a favourite crocodile bath toy that he used to call ‘Duckadile’. It’s lovely hearing children learning words and latching on to certain vowels and syllables, working out how to pronounce them. It’s a very exciting time for mums and dads when kids are that age. Learning, exploring. We have Wussywat displaying the same confusion with his words on occasion, often when he’s excited. He eventually gets the pronunciation right though and always with help from his friends.
I discussed these ideas with artist and writer Simon Rolph. He and I have been mates since Art School. He said I should turn it into a show, so we spent the next year or so working and crafting a format and characters. Simon’s been a teacher in all manner of places so he really took up the baton with the learning side. He devised the ‘clumsy = clever’ formula and has employed the positive mindset message of “having fun having a go” to great effect throughout the writing.
Is there a knack to communicating with young children through animation?
Simon Rolph, Co-creator/Writer:
I’ve had the good fortune to work with kids of all ages in many different parts of the world and it never ceases to amaze me how art and comedy are often the two main levelers in any culture, particularly with children. It’s a real heart and eye-opener! My last project was based in Addis Ababa where I worked with local writers and artists producing Ethiopia’s first animated series Abeba & Abebe (52 x 7 mins, ETV) for 8-12 year olds. Funded by UNDP the brief was to make the Ethiopian constitution funny and accessible to kids. We watched a lot of Tom and Jerry and Spongebob to get that right! A series of comic books were also developed to accompany the show, translated into four different languages (at last count). So, animation and, more specifically, ‘cartoons’ have been the perfect communication tools in this instance!
With Wussywat, a lot of thought has gone into mixing the comedy and learning elements to ensure we’re not too preachy but that the level of ‘funny’ is just enough to let the education slip through! The trick here has been to give the audience ownership by allowing Wussywat to make all the connections through his comic slapstick turns, engaging the kids through laughter. He makes all the mistakes and then reaps the rewards by keeping on trying.
The ‘have fun having a go’ formula I developed lends itself to this kind of slapstick animation too. The ‘three clumsies and you’re clever’ maxim draws some influence from Carol Dweck’s Mindset Theory where she suggests we encourage our kids (and selves) to learn by exploring and not give up for fear of failure. Just as Tom or Jerry might recover from a sharp blow to the head form an oversized mallet Wussywat is as likely to recover from yet another spin in the vegetable patch and carry on regardless until he achieves his goal! Kids can identify with that. Kids can always identify with people/things falling over and getting back up again. It’s funny!
Is the look of Wussywat designed with children in mind?
Simon Quinn, Co-creator/Producer:
We wanted Wussywat to be simple but visually strong and my brief to the designer Jo Kiddie was to look at The Magic Roundabout, one of my all time favourite shows. Jo is a fantastic illustrator with a very unique style. She has had children’s picture books published in the past and she has two young ones of her own and often asks their opinion on what does and does not work. We have even used a few of their drawings in some of the episodes.
The 2D cut out style is also reminiscent of 70s kids’ animation series like Noggin the Nog or Ivor the Engine. The innocence of this visual approach compliments perfectly the gentleness of the Wussywat storylines. In some ways our show has a very traditional sense and the slightly clumsy looking movements that flash animation affords can often make for a very funny and charming feel.
What does a children’s TV director need to be aware of when working on a show for children?
Tom Edgar, Director:
Primarily, as a director I am aware of the need to convey the story in the most visually entertaining way whilst staying true to the aesthetics of the show and getting the salient plot points from the script across succinctly. At the end of the day, however, it really just has to be funny!
As with any kind of filmmaking, the show is a product of a million smaller parts coming together to make a coherent whole. I don’t see children’s animation as being any different. The worst thing you can do is lower your standards or talk down to children through laboured direction as they will find you out immediately! As long as you are promoting sensible ethics and safe messages your imagination is free to soar!
Wussywat is a co-production, how does that relationship work?
Tom Edgar, Director:
It’s a very healthy and necessary part of the process. I think most independent animation is produced with co-production and partnerships these days. Our series is in partnership with the Canadian animation company Smiley Guy Studios and they bring a huge amount of the acting and scene planning to the creative fore. Without being able to trust their abilities we would have a very difficult time operating as the time difference and remote locations alone require us to rely on email, Skype conversations and Frankie sessions to handle the approvals process.
On a practical level my day starts at 8:30 when I switch on the computer to check overnight emails and it can run until after 11pm if there are issues that need my attention from the Canadian crew. I may have a script to send to the story boarders, a brief to give the animators, revisions to look at, shots to critique and sound passes to listen to.
It’s a delicate juggling act but certainly we’ve managed to squeeze more hours out of a day than is usually the case, which isn’t a bad thing, and both Simons are there at the end of a phone to pick up the slack or cajole where appropriate!
Series 1 of Wussywat the Clumsy Cat is being shown on CBeebies at 09:30 and 13:30 everyday and can be viewed on the iPlayer here.
A Wussywat Garden Games App to accompany the series is also available by clicking here.
Keep up to date with the show by visiting the website here, like Wussywat on Facebook here and follow Wussywat on Twitter here.